March 6, 2009

Box Score

GLVC Quarterfinals: Southern Indiana 67, Lewis 61 in PDF Format

Evansville, Ind. - It is a well documented fact that it is a daunting task to defeat the Southern Indiana men's basketball team at the Screaming Eagles' Physical Activities Center.

After all, USI has won 89.9% of their games at the PAC under current head coach Rick Herdes.

The Lewis men's basketball team nearly put a dent in that winning percentage on Friday night, but the Flyers fell short as Southern Indiana claimed the 67-61 Great Lakes Valley Conference Quarterfinal match-up at the PAC.

"Our kids took it as a great opportunity and a great challenge to play Southern Indiana," Lewis head men's basketball coach Scott Trost said. "(Southern Indiana) had been averaging 85 points a game and they're as talented as any team in the country. Our kids fought for 40 minutes and gave ourselves a chance to win it in the end."

USI guard Jamar Smith led four Screaming Eagle players in double-figures with 18 points, including three second-half three-pointers. Smith's backcourt mate Marvin Gray had 15 points followed by 13 from Brandon Russ and 10 tallies from Brandon Carr (9 rebounds).

With the victory, Southern Indiana (26-5) advances to the GLVC semifinals to square off against the winner of the Bellarmine/Quincy contest at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night. Lewis falls to 16-12 on the campaign and will await word on Sunday night at 8 p.m. (CST) on whether or not they will advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Lewis senior guard Brandon Dagans (Harvey, Ill./Thornton) led all scorers with 23 points, while senior forward Jason Genova (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick/Saint Xavier) posted 18 points, including three trifectas.

Southern Indiana seemed in control for much of the second half as they built a 46-37 lead following a pair of Carr free throws with 14:02 remaining in the final stanza.

The Flyers, however, responded with a 14-4 run, over the next seven minutes to take a 51-50 advantage following a free throw from freshman guard Chris McClellan (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Wheeling) with 6:38 left in the game. During that stretch, Dagans hit a pair of three-pointers for the Flyers.

USI counter-punched with an 8-0 run of their own that included long-range bombs from both Smith and Gray to give the Screaming Eagles the 58-51 lead with 4:44 remaining in the contest.

Both teams would trade possessions until Dagans converted a three-point play at the 3:53 mark to cut the advantage to 58-54. Lewis and USI, would then trade points over the next six possessions, as the Screaming Eagles held a 64-60 lead with 1:14 left in the game following a Russ lay-up.

Lewis would turn the ball over on the ensuing possession, and the Flyers would not get any closer.

Southern Indiana enjoyed a 33-21 advantage over the Flyers on the boards and scored 12 second-chance points to the Flyers' two. The Screaming Eagles' also took advantage of 19 Lewis turnovers, posting 24 points off the Flyer errors.

"We competed really hard and I was really proud of their effort," Trost said. "They beat us on the boards, we had too many turnovers and we couldn't run offense for awhile. They deserve some credit too. People don't understand how good this league and that team is. We're trying to beat Southern Indiana on their home floor."

Freshman center Marty Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) set the single-season block record on Friday night with his 49th and 50th swats of the campaign. Those blocks also helped the Flyers establish a new single-season record for blocks in a season with 110.

A Catholic University sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The mid-sized university is being honored for the fifth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu. ##LEWIS##